KPop Demon Hunters

★★★ out of ★★★★

KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

Runtime: 99 minutes

MPAA: Rated PG for action/violence, scary images, thematic elements, some suggestive material and brief language.

I'm no stranger to K-Pop. I have many friends who share similar interests. From the aesthetic appeal, songs composed in a variety of genres to live performances, it would be an understatement to say that K-Pop hasn't had significant impact on Korean and the international stage. In some ways, it unites people together.

Maggie Kang, with the help of co-director Chris Appelhans, created KPop Demon Hunters to tell a personal story, blending elements like mythology, demonology and K-Pop to create a culturally grounded film. It's clearly a desire to share her experiences to the world. They use a relatively simple good-versus-evil tale but attempts to deconstruct it by fixating on fractured identity, a challenge they rise up to admirably enough. KPop Demon Hunters works best when it examines the conflicted nature of its main character Rumi (Arden Cho) and throwing us questions about whether demons are truly purely evil or still have a glimmer of hopefulness and soul in them. But you can also see the larger picture occasionally struggle as it tries combining and unpacking too many elements within its kinetic and fast-paced nature, leaving a lesser impression on deeper themes and the intended cultural specificity it aims. Still, it's vibrantly animated, always entertaining and is blessed with catchy, sometimes powerful songs, which you'll feel to a thrilling degree during the climax.

Tracing back centuries, demons have been praying on humans' souls to feed their ruler, Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-Hun). Amidst the chaos, women emerged as demon hunters, using their combat abilities to vanquish the demons, as well as using their singing abilities to create a magical barrier called the Honmoon. Generations pass and the heavy, burdening task is passed to the new trio called HUNTR/X, which composes of Rumi, Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) and Mira (May Hong). Rumi hides the fact that she's a half-demon, attributed to her father, as they prepare for their largest tour that'll permanently seal the Honmoon. Their progress is halted by a demon group called Saja Boys, led by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), who discovers Rumi's secret and begins frequently conversing with her.

Where do I even begin? KPop Demon Hunters is visually presented interestingly, fusing 2D and 3D animation to deliver stunning action sequences and dancing. There are so many gags that are just a feast for the eyes, and it also mocks Korean tropes in pop, drama and media, even if it doesn't cohesively form a pointed argument or commentary about Korea in general. It's full of energy, and you can tell from the opening, which begins with the kind of momentum you'd usually expect from the climax of a film, then dips straight to darkness as it explores Rumi's dual identity. That is merely an observation. Part of what makes KPop Demon Hunters consistently enjoyable is the ability to tonally shift from high-octane songs and swordfights to internal struggles in natural, organic ways. There's a constant expectation that artists in the industry have to meet. They must maintain a perfect image - full of energy, stoic and devoid of any human feelings. Shifting to the backstage and allowing the characters' personalities to shine provides a layer of resonance and connection to them, even if Zoey and Mira are arguably locked into one-note roles.

The biggest strength in the film is analysing Rumi's internal self, and comparing it to Jinu. A simple battle of good and bad is expanded into more thoughtful questions about whether Rumi needs to hide or get rid of her figurative and literal demons to be accepted, and the selfish, moral sacrifices Jinu made that provided him a fruitful mortal life in exchange for eternal suffering. When Rumi gets exposed by the Saja Boys during a major concert and her friends find out about that, they instantly ostracise her and draw their weapons. Even her mentor Celine (Yunjin Kim), despite having good intentions, wants to fix Rumi by hiding her patterns and continuing with the lie.

Does erasure mean social acceptance? Does shame tied to identity equate to something that needs fixing? These are deep, profound questions that don't have a clear answer. Rumi embraces her identity and grounds it in the song "What It Sounds Like", a powerful response to those questions. However, the neat resolution also made me wonder about how her true identity is now being embraced by her friends and the larger society. KPop Demon Hunters seems to avoid exploring a layer deeper into the complexities of these, positing that if one accepts who they are, we'd too. I'm also curious about why the public is oblivious to the demon world, given the alarming increase in missing persons. But hey, these are nitpicky quibbles almost no one would be bothered with.

And I wouldn't be bothered by it too. KPop Demon Hunters' energetic soundtrack is definitely the film's selling point. Songs like "Golden" or "Soda Pop" will get audiences grooving to the rhythm of it, singing the lyrics and following the dance choreographies. I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of musicals, as they too often pad the runtime or spell things out clunkily, but the songs are lyrical and flow with the movie well, seamlessly integrating it to their feelings, motivations and agency. It also helps that they have talented singers which include the likes of Ejae, Rei Ami, Audrey Nuna and members of real KPop group TWICE. Children will have a good time experiencing the visual and musical thrill of it, while older audiences get some food for thought about identity and what a soul is. That's something, at least.